King of Hearts 1 (From Eric Beheim)

King of Hearts 1, originally uploaded by bucklesw1. All through my senior year in college, I had a part-time job in a little “art theater” located just off campus. My favorite from among the foreign films we ran was Philippe de Broca’s LE ROI DE COEUR (THE KING OF HEARTS). Its whimsical, topsy-turvy plot might almost have been written by W. S. Gilbert: During final months of World War I, the retreating Germans leave behind a massive time bomb in a quaint French town, which will soon be occupied by the British. A member of the French resistance is able to warn the British general via a short, frantic radio message that ends with the cryptic clue, “The knight strikes at midnight.” The British advance is halted and a single soldier (played by Alan Bates) is sent in to locate and disarm the bomb, even though he knows nothing about explosives. Meanwhile all the town’s inhabitants have fled. (This included the performers from a visiting circus, who leave behind their costumes, equipment and animals.) The only people left are the inmates of the local insane asylum. Making their way into the town, they dress up in the clothes they find laying around and assume the roles of the townspeople including such notables as the barber, the general, the bishop, the duke & duchess, and even the madam who runs the local brothel. (Supposedly insane, the inmates all act and behave quite coherently.) Encountering Alan, they crown him their king. Most of the film’s comedy stems from Alan’s frantic efforts to keep the town and his “subjects” from being blown up, while having to contend with some decidedly loony situations.